Jesus talks a lot about the kingdom of heaven. He teaches about the kingdom of heaven, about the in-breaking of God’s way of doing this thing we call life, and about the alternative vision of what it means to really live into the divine economy of abundance, grace, and love. Jesus even tells them, from time to time, what the kingdom of heaven is like. In our reading this morning he tells those who are listening that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed . . . like yeast . . . like a treasure . . . like a fine pearl. Tells them that it is old and new. This is what the kingdom of heaven is like says Jesus.
Then he turns to them, looks them in the eyes, and asks: “Have you understood all these things?”
To which, of course, they all respond, “You betcha! Clear as a bell!”
Well, I have to be honest . . . I would have probably said the same thing because who wants to come across as looking like a dummy! Who wants to look ignorant in front of family and friends? Not me! Not you! The truth is that all this kingdom talk of Jesus can be confusing and frustrating as we attempt to make sense of it from a bunch of parables. Come on . . . a mustard seed? Yeast? A pearl? Treasure? What do these have to do with kingdoms?
When I say “kingdom” are these the adjectives you would use in describing what a “kingdom” is? If I say “heaven”, would you describe it as a tiny seed, a micro-orgasmic fungus, or a fine pearl? Probably not! In fact, if we were to be honest, none of us is too sure how we would describe the “kingdom of heaven”. But if Jesus is asking the question . . . well, you betcha.
The problem is that we don’t quite get it.
Actually, we do get it, but don’t quite get it . . . a sort of “already and not yet” understanding. We catch glimpses of it, but don’t quite see the whole thing. It is an elusive concept but as concrete as the nose on our faces. One of my favorite books is the story of the King Arthur legend called The Once and Future King by T.H. White. As the story goes King Arthur marries Guinevere despite being warned by Merlin that she is in love with another. True to form Guinevere loves Sir Lancelot, one of Arthur’s knights of the Round Table. When Arthur finds out about the affair, Lancelot flees for France. Arthur pursues him.
In his absence Arthur’s nephew, Mordred, takes the throne. Upon his return there is a terrible battle in which most of his knights are killed and he is grievously wounded. At that point Excalibur—the sword of the kingship—is thrown into the lake as he boards a boat for the magical Isle of Avalon. It is there that he hopes to be healed so he can return and regain Excalibur and the throne to lead his people once again. It is for this reason that he is called “the once and future king”.
So . . . he is the king, but he is also going to be the king . . . he is going to leave and then return. Sound familiar? As clear as mud, but none of us is going to admit we don’t get it. You see the kingdom of heaven that Jesus speaks about . . . that he implores his followers to establish, well it is present now and will be in the future. It is now and yet to come.
And it is magnificent! More than anyone could ever imagine. It seems so small and yet it blooms into this huge creation . . . like a mustard seed. It seems so insignificant yet when mixed with faith it mixes itself with the dough until the result is unimaginable . . . like yeast. It is a treasure that is worth giving up everything to own . . . a fine pearl. It is so wonderful that nothing should be allowed to diminish its value . . . there is a willingness to rid one’s life of that which would make one deter from it—like separating the good fish from the bad fish. It is a magnificent gift . . . a wondrous blessing . . . a gift for all to realize.
There is no denying that . . . but do we get it?
That is the question.
We get it. We get that the kingdom of heaven is the alternative to the world in which we live our lives daily. We get God’s desire for the world to be what Jesus demonstrates . . . a world of grace and love, peace and justice. We get it but sometimes we are so immersed in the trees that we cannot see the forest. We work hard just to get through the day dealing with all the things that life throws at us . . . putting out fires here and there. It is surviving . . . and tiresome. Yet we are aware of God’s call through Jesus to establish the kingdom of heaven.
And we see it. We see the kingdom of heaven all the time.
We see it whenever others come out to help the needs of a neighbor . . . to come to another’s aid . . . to ease a burden. We see it when a child picks flowers for a bouquet for the elderly lady down the street who doesn’t ever seem to get any visitors. We see it through the simple acts of kindness and caring . . . of grace and love. It comes in a pat on the back, a hug, or sitting around having a cup of coffee in the fellowship of laughter. The kingdom of heaven is like this and so much more. Think of those times when you encountered the kingdom of heaven breaking through in your lives.
The kingdom of heaven is here . . . right now. The kingdom of heaven is yet to come . . . and that is up to us. We know the value and holiness and powerful potential of this kingdom that Jesus speaks about and calls us to. It is like a mustard seed . . . like yeast . . . a treasure . . . a fine pearl. It is such a gift and blessing that it is too much to resist, and we would do anything to have it. It is so valuable, holy, and powerful that we would sort our lives out to remove any barriers that keep us from fulfilling it . . . like sorting the good fish from the bad fish. We would mingle it with the goodness of now with the goodness yet to come.
That is what the kingdom of heaven is like, and it is up to us to make it a reality. Let us not limit ourselves, as difficult as it is, to the point that we cannot see the kingdom through our daily adventures of living life. As the followers of Jesus, we have all been trained for the kingdom of heaven . . . we have all been given the keys to the heavenly realm. We are rich in the gift of the Holy Spirit and Jesus has shown us the way—it is right there in our bibles.
And that is enough . . . more than enough. Theologian Darrell Guder states that the church is a “parable of the kingdom.” As the Body of Christ, we truly do embody the good news. The kingdom of heaven is like you and me, ordinary sinner/saints, when the Spirit shines through us to part the clouds and mists of this beautiful, broken world. The kingdom has come. We live in the “now and yet to come” . . . and it is good. Let the kingdom reign! Amen!
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